It's Been a Long Time

With highs nearing 65 lately snowboarding plans went out the window and we went hiking. I tried to take photos, but the camera was completely dead. I need to get that charged before our trip to NYC. I really can't remember the last time I went to Susquehanna State Park. We didn't go swimming in Deer Creek there last Summer. It has been a long time. Anyway, we spent a couple of hours hiking a couple of miles. It was good to get out and be active. I didn't feel totally out of shape, which is good.

Critter spotting: cows, geese, various small birds, a chicken, sheep, a small snake, flies, and other winged insects.

I didn't see any horses or deer, but I did see their tracks.

I need to make sure and get back there again soon and keep going back. We should go swimming and berry picking there this Summer.

Back to Nature

Last weekend we made it up to Susquehanna for our first hike of the year. Despite it being Spring, we didn't see many critters. We saw lots and lots of tiny little flowers. I also snapped a photo of this odd little bug with a long stinger. I'm looking forward to swimming in Deer Creek and picking berries later this year.

The weather lately has been awesome. Sunny. Hot. I've been sporting my sunglasses and driving around with the top down.

Never Trust the Weatherman

We arrive and it has just rained,

It is still raining under the trees,

Steam rises up from the road.

As we head off on our bikes toward the dam,

My previous hesitation (fear) seems ridiculous.

The mud flecks onto my thighs,

And sprays up the back of my shirt.

I notice the mud on my shoes,

I should have worn my new water shoes.

We arrive at the dam viewing area.

It begins to rain,

No, it is pouring.

At least the mud is washing off.

As the rain drops pelt me,

I imagine my sunscreen being whisked away.

I feel my socks soaking up the rain.

A frog jumps through the water covering the path.

Thunder cracks overhead,

We are completely soaked.

Just before the rain lets up,

We slide on the wooden bridge,

And both end up laying on the bridge in the rain.

As we continue,

I'm strangely not upset.

A turtle pulls into his shell as I pass.

What is the point of a swimsuit,

When we are soaked?

I put on my water shoes,

And head to the river.

The water level is high,

Finding a warm spot,

We wash the mud from our clothes.

It starts to rain again.

In the car we change into dry clothes (our swimsuits).

An hour later the sun is,

Shining--brightly.

Never trust the weatherman.

We Can All Climb Trees!

The Foxes arrived late last night, and today we took them to Susque-hanna for some hiking and swimming. We even got to pick berries on the trail. All of us climbed the big tree on the green trail. It was humid and we were wearing our suits under our clothes, so we were definitely ready for swimming at the end of our hike.

Swimming in Deer Creek was actually really cool. The rocks were hard on the feet though! Some were slimy and slippery, some were sharp, some were oddly shaped and some were covered in a grassy carpet. The grassy carpet ones were easiest on the feet. We had fun with the currents and finding a couple of deep spots. I think we all got cuts on our feet. Laura broke a toenail and I'm missing a chunk of skin from the end of my big toe. Amazingly, it doesn't hurt.

At the end we drove over to the mill and the girls all got to see the Susquehanna River. I found another few fully laden raspberry bushes behind the mill and we managed to almost fill our bag. We had waffles this morning with raspberry sauce and I'll be making some ice cream soon.

Critter spotting: lots of spiders, two fledgling falcons (I thinks that's what they were), lots of other birds, small frogs, fish, a snake, butterflies and squirrels. On the way home we saw deer, cows, and horses.

Up for tomorrow: DC.

More Surprises

I dragged Ross through the raspberry patches yesterday and we came upon lots of critters. We saw a bunch of tiny frogs, dragonflies, a box turtle, a deer, long legged spiders, iridescent spiders, butterflies, fish, and birds. I was much more selective about my berry picking and came home with a bag of very ripe raspberries. I used some of Wednesday's berries to make flax muffins. I think I'll use the rest of the raspberries to make smoothies and ice cream. The blackberry bush had some nice ripe berries and a snake. Yep, a snake, high up in the bush! I reached for a berry and something moved. I noticed a small striped rope hanging by my hand. I called Ross over and he got to see it too. Half way through the hike Ross was sick of the humidity and was done picking berries. At the end we were both really, really worn out.

Surprise!

I didn't think there would be anything to report today, but there were lots of surprises on my hike. The hike went much slower than usual, but not entirely because I haven't had a real hike in about a month. Before I could even get on the trail I was attracted to something bright red on the side of the road. Berries. I always want to eat berries when I find them, but I'm not sure what most of them are so I resist. Not today. They were raspberries! I was picking and eating them, but then I decided to take my sandwich out of its ziplock bag and use the bag to collect berries. I got an entire bag full! So, since I kept stopping all along the trail, the hike that normally would take me less than two hours took me two and a half. I had so much fun. Free, organic raspberries! When I got to the end of the first trail I found another surprise--Blackberries. There was one large blackberry bush, but not many of them were ripe. I found one huge, black blackberry and it was so juicy and sweet. I managed not to get too scratched up--I remember climbing around in the berry patch behind my great grandma's house and getting pretty torn up. I used my long arms to reach as many berries as I could.
These really ripe ones were just out of reach! My bag was full about three-quarters of the way through the hike, so after that all I could do was pick and eat--so that's what I did.
Critter spotting: Today was also a great day for critter spotting. My hearing seemed especially sensitive today (maybe because I didn't have headphones in and I was paying attention) and I caught sight of 5 deer! This particular deer was walking right towards me. I kind of wish I'd waited just a bit longer to take the photo. When he finally saw me he freaked and took off. I also saw a few squirrels, birds, bees, wasps, spiders, and lots of zebra striped butterflies. I finally saw one of the woodpeckers too. I picked a few bugs along with the berries and had to pull a praying mantis nymph and a couple of stink bugs out of the bag.
I don't know what kind of flower this is, but it smelled good, like a tuberose, but not nearly as strong. The bugs seemed especially attracted to it. There are at least four insects in the photo, and I'm pretty sure there is a butterfly on the backside. I sure am glad I forced myself to get out and go hiking today.

Susquehanna with the Lusters

We had a great weekend.  On Saturday we cleaned house and then just chilled out all day long. On Sunday the Lusters came over for lunch and then we headed to Susquehanna State Park for a hike. Ross, Troy, Valerie and Evelyn checked out the mill while Julia and I checkout out the river.  We then hiked the green trail.  Evelyn did a great job hiking.  I managed to sneak up behind Ross and scare him toward the end of the hike.  Good times.
Evelyn got a piggy back ride from Ross.
Julia took a nap for a while.  She looked like she was going to fall out of her carrier.
Oh, of course we went to the dairy after our hike.  How could I forget!  Everyone, including Julia, had yummy ice cream.  We drove back from the dairy with the top down and finally got a photo of us girls in the car.  Julia did not actually ride with us.  And poor Evelyn barely fits in the back seat!

Check out more great photos on Valerie's blog post.

Extended Hike

I was intending to hike for two hours yesterday, but I missed a fork in the trail and ended up hiking for more than two and a half hours! Thankfully I had the map with me, so I didn't panic when I realized I was no longer on the blue trail.

I'm going to rant a little now.  Halfway through my hiking I stopped on a small bridge and looked down into the water. I saw some money floating in the water.  It didn't look quite right, but I climbed down and picked it up anyway (and some more that I found).  When I unfolded it I saw a fake five dollar bill drawn on 2/3 of it and the other third said: DISAPPOINTED? SATAN also Deceives, but JESUS SAVES!  Uh, yeah I'm disappointed. Someone freaking littered in the park! Purposely!  In the water!  I hate religious tracts. I often see them thrown on the ground, but this one is designed to be litter.  The back of the thing of course tells me how I can be saved.  I saved them for the recycling bin. That wasn't the only trash I saw. I also picked up a reflector from a bike, and well, I didn't pick up the diaper and toilet paper I saw.  The toilet paper was under a branch, but right in the middle of the trail!  The dirty nappy had been dropped right on the edge of the trail.  Gross.  People are nasty.

The rest of the hike was great. The smell of freshly 

mowed hay was nice. I mostly saw small things this week:

butterflies, lots of flying insects, beetles, a slug, a worm, caterpillars, 2 dead mice, a small squirrel, lots of flowers, different kind of mushrooms, bright red ticks and mites, and two horses.

Back on Track

Even though I keep hearing that abs are made in the kitchen, and excess food consumption is more to blame for obesity than lack of exercise, I know I still need to work out.  I didn't exercise at all last week. I decided to get back on track this week.  Yesterday I did a 90 minute yoga podcast.  Other than 2 scoops of ice cream instead of one last night, I think I've been eating pretty well this week. 

Today I went for a hike.  I saw a few deer, and one of them didn't mind having a little photo shoot.  I ended up hiking for 2 hours!  I went off trail for a little while and ended up getting pick pocketed by a thorny bush.  Thank goodness I noticed my camera was missing just a few steps later (when I tried to take a photo of a grey squirrel) and I was able to go back and get it.

Up for tomorrow:  The Firm videos.

Hiking, Biking, and Milling

Yesterday was a really nice day, especially after days and days of rain. Ross and his coworkers were going to meet at Susquehanna to go mountain biking.  I decided to go with so that I could hike along Rock Run River.  I didn't start off on a trail, I just wanted to stay as close to the water as possible.  One of the times I was crossing the river I slipped and fell in.  Well, I was just standing there, both feet in the water, with 3 folks on horseback staring at me.  The water actually wasn't very cold, and I managed to shrug off the whole thing and keep hiking.

Ross and his buddies had fun mountain biking. Of course Ross flipped over and got a little banged up.  His buddies were going to continue biking, but Ross said he'd had enough and we were going to leave until Ross noticed that he'd lost his headlight.  We hiked back up the trail to where he had wrecked and he found it.  All in all I got at least an hour and a half of hiking in.

Before we left we stopped at the mill, which was running, to check it out.  It was pretty neat. The mill was grinding corn, and they even gave us some as we were leaving.  I hope the mill is running if and when we go with the Lusters.  Evelyn would love it!

Critterspotting:  On the way to/from the park I saw horses, sheep, cows, and a donkey.  In the park I saw frogs, millipedes, dogs, horses, cardinals, spiders, iridescent green beetles, a large black beetle, a worm, a duck, a blue jay, other birds, some really large ants, and Ross saw a skink.